Three-dimensional manipulative puzzles whose object is to arrange characters or color patterns carried on individual pieces in a particular order by translating and/or rotating the pieces in a particular sequence are known.
It is also known to increase the difficulty of solving such puzzles by constructing the puzzle so that movements of individual pieces involve compound actions, such as the movement of one piece causing another piece, or all of the pieces, to move simultaneously.
One well known example of such a puzzle is the "Rubik's Cube". Another known puzzle utilizes a ring that encircles a sphere. The ring has been broken into an even number of pie-shaped pieces that are rotatable as a group about a first axis running through the center of the ring and the sphere. The sphere is split into two equal halves that are rotatable relative to each other about a second axis running through the center of the sphere and perpendicular to the first axis. The puzzle allows for the pie-shaped pieces to be split into two groups having an equal number of pieces, with each group being carried by one of the halves of the sphere for rotation about the second axis.
Typically, such puzzles are in the form of common geometric shapes, such as a cube or a pyramid, or in the form of a combination of geometric shapes, such as a sphere combined with a ring. It is also common for such puzzles to utilize symmetrical pieces, and for the manipulation of such puzzles to cause relative movement between symmetrical groups of pieces. The use of geometrical shapes and symmetrical pieces is dictated, in part, by the mechanisms employed in the puzzles to allow manipulation of the puzzle pieces.
While some such puzzles have proven successful, their appeal may be limited because they typically function only as a puzzle. Additionally, the use of more complicated colored or geometric patterns and especially the use of alpha or numeric characters may make certain of the puzzles too complicated for some users to solve, such as children.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.